---
product_id: 6310318
title: "Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking: A Memoir of Food and Longing"
brand: "anya von bremzen"
price: "R518"
currency: ZAR
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 8
url: https://www.desertcart.co.za/products/6310318-mastering-the-art-of-soviet-cooking-a-memoir-of-food
store_origin: ZA
region: South Africa
---

# Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking: A Memoir of Food and Longing

**Brand:** anya von bremzen
**Price:** R518
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking: A Memoir of Food and Longing by anya von bremzen
- **How much does it cost?** R518 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.co.za](https://www.desertcart.co.za/products/6310318-mastering-the-art-of-soviet-cooking-a-memoir-of-food)

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## Description

Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking: A Memoir of Food and Longing

## Images

![Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking: A Memoir of Food and Longing - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71XO3SMGmfL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    Insights into a lost world
  

*by A***N on Reviewed in the United States on January 3, 2014*

I read this book over my Christmas holiday. Anya Von Bremzen's moving, funny, and intimate journal explores the history of 20th century Russia through the framework of cuisine. Although her story is a personal one, it is concurrently the story of a nation and its struggles with the daily realities of life. Although late Czarism is touched on, the author focuses mainly on Soviet times, in particular the 1930's (High Stalinism) and the 1960's and 70's (Era of Stagnation). She also gives some great insights into modern Moscow, including a little mini-memoir of her travels there in 2011. What makes this book much more than a mere family memoir is the author's ability to pepper her tale with germane political commentary, literary references, and cultural tidbits that the casual as well as more Russo-oriented reader will appreciate. She mentions blat (the system of patronage in the Soviet Union), the Central House of Writers where the devil dines in "Master and Margarita", Soviet medicine, Gogol and Chekhov's sumptuous food descriptions, empty shelves in the 1990's and 40-dollar pizzas in Putin's Moscow. She weaves a mighty tapestry of references and associations which elevates this book above a simple memoir to something that speaks to a world that despite deprivation, also had some charm.If you are interested in exploring the subject further, I recommend two other volumes: one discusses Moscow culture in the 1930's "Moscow: the Fourth Rome" by Katerina Clark 
  
Moscow, the Fourth Rome: Stalinism, Cosmopolitanism, and the Evolution of Soviet Culture, 1931-1941







  
  
     and the other, "Food in Russian History and Culture" by Glants and Toomre 
  
Food in Russian History and Culture (Indiana-Michigan Series in Russian and East European Studies)







  
  
    , discusses numerous topics related to culinary history and culture in Russia and the Soviet Union, from Medieval times to Soviet Times. For another quirky suggestion, please check out the 1980's Soviet Film "Baltazar's Feast" 
  
Baltazar's Feasts or The Night with Stalin/ Piry Valtasara ili noch so Stalinym







  
  
     about Stalin's banquets in his later years- hard to find, but worth it.Overall I highly recommend this sumptuous overview of Russian cuisine and recent history, told from an impassioned and very personal point of view.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    one should refer to Anya's other excellent work, "Please to the Table
  

*by D***S on Reviewed in the United States on June 13, 2016*

Anya Bremzen's book on Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking should not be confused with a typical cookbook on Russian cuisine. For a very thorough treatise on Russian and general Slavic recipes, one should refer to Anya's other excellent work, "Please to the Table." There you will find an immense list of fabulous cooking ideas. But if you are like me, someone who is mystically drawn to all things Russian especially as it relates to everyday life for those who lived through Russia's darkest days then you will find this book very stimulating.Anya speaks partly from her own experience but draws heavily on her mother's. Going back to what life was actually like trying to provide for her family under indescribable hardships. Food is a common denominator between all of us and it is through this that we are made to see a life like we would not want to live.Anya is an extremely gifted writer and can clearly articulate her mind in a fashion that paints a clear and riveting picture for the reader. In addition, she contributes facts about life during this period that is extremely interesting to say the least. If you are a person who is drawn to learning more about life as it was under Lenin and Stalin then this book will feed your mind. This book will appeal to those who enjoy the fascinating depth of real cooking and how it can be so involving coupled with a way of life so foreign to us who have never experienced it. Do yourself a favor and purchase this book.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    As Tasty As Home Made Kotletii
  

*by G***Y on Reviewed in the United States on July 24, 2014*

In this loving and poignant memoir, von Bremzen uses food as a lens to focus in on and explore late Russian Imperial, Soviet, and post-Soviet history. And what a story it is. Being Russian-American myself I was seduced by the charm of this book. My own parents defected in the same period that von-Bremzen and her mother left and I grew up on much of the same food because I grew up near the Russian-Ukrainian enclave of Brighton Beach in NYC. So this particular book was like a fun house mirror - not quite the same as my own experiences, but close enough to act as a madeleine. And I can truly say that this book speaks from authentic experiences that will fill you with joy even if you are not Russian or Russian-American. It's an extremely well-written history.The book is divided into decades chronicling roughly 100 years of Russian and Imperial Soviet history. In each decade we explore von-Bremzen's family - from her great grandparents to herself and also in each decade we have a particular food experience. If you are looking for recipes, then you will get them - at the back of the book with extra information about the author's experiences with the food. If you are looking for history, you will get it. It's much more personal history and that makes it much more rewarding to read. After reading this you will understand more about the centrality of food to the Russian experience.Now I really to want to go and make some Salat Olivier (Russian potato salad) and Kotleti (bunless hamburgers!).

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*Product available on Desertcart South Africa*
*Store origin: ZA*
*Last updated: 2026-03-21*